1 6 RED DEER. 



of the curlew — true sisrn of the wilder- 

 ness — is heard among them. From the in- 

 habited places Exmoor is nibbled at, but is 

 not affected, any more than the drainage of 

 fens straitens the sea. 



The boundless heather, which looks dark 

 in spring and early summer, at first sight 

 seems the only growth of the endless 

 moors. Among it, on closer examination, 

 will be found the li^ht-grecn whortleberry 

 plants filling the spaces between, and in 

 many districts there is a quantity of coarse 

 grass. Every spring portions of the grass 

 and heather are fired, and the flames travel 

 with extraordinary rapidity, so that a mile 

 -(tins traversed and the surface consumed 

 almost immediately the match is applied. 

 By waiting till the direction of the wind is 

 suitable, the flames burn over the tract 

 which has been selected, and are in a 

 measure guided so as to avoid the districts 

 which it is not desirable to destroy. Great 

 fires like this again remind one of the 



